(July 24, 2008)

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND--The Coastal Bend really dodged a bullet here in the Coastal Bend, but residents down in the Rio Grande Valley got a direct hit and now are picking up the pieces.

Hurricane Dolly made landfall just north of South Padre Island. Today, we got a chance to see the damage on the Island. You can see how this hurricane left its mark.

South Padre Island was hammered by Hurricane Dolly, a Catergory Two hurricane with winds at more than a 100 miles an hour. She also dropped about 15 inches of rain.

It tossed around boats like toothpicks on the island. Power lines, downed streets signs and uprooted trees were evidence of Dolly come ashore on Wednesday afternoon.

Some tourists decided to hang around for hurricane dolly and they said they were surprised this storm was so strong.

At the Bahia Mar Hotel, some visiting stayed in the bar not knowing Dolly would cause extensive damage. Outside, there was a tv thrown from a room and a wall demolished. Inside, the ceiling was destroyed and there was debri all over the place.

Governor Rick Perry and U.S. Texas Senator John Cornyn flew over the hurricane zone. They wanted to assess the area to get the president to declare it a disaster zone.

It's estimated a quarter million people were without power in the Rio Grande Valley. National Guard soldiers and workers are now in the area helping clean up and get the power back on. As many drove to the hurricane zone, they saw the destruction left behind by Dolly.

Now, the clean up has begun and it will be awhile before the Valley returns back to normal.